Gatsby: An American Myth, yet another production directed by Theatre alumna Rachel Chavkin ’08, begins preview performances at the American Repertory Theater’s Loeb Drama Center next month, with an official opening set for June.
The musical is based closely on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the story of millionaire Jay Gatsby’s obsessive quest to reunite with former lover Daisy Buchanan, as told through the eyes of Gatsby’s neighbor, Nick Carraway. The production will feature a libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok. The show’s score will be composed by Florence Welch of the rock band Florence and the Machine, with choreography by Tony-winner Sonya Tayeh and music direction by Wiley DeWeese.
Chavkin was recently honored by the City of New York for her shows running in tandem on Broadway, Hadestown and Lempicka, in a ceremony that renamed 48th Street Chavkin Way.
Rachel Chavkin is a director, writer and dramaturg, as well as the founding Artistic Director of Brooklyn-based company the TEAM. Selected freelance work includes Dave Malloy’s Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 (Ars Nova, A.R.T., Broadway), Anaïs Mitchell’s Hadestown (New York Theatre Workshop, Edmonton Citadel, London’s National Theatre, Broadway), Arthur Miller’s The American Clock (Old Vic), Matt Gould and Carson Kreitzer’s Lempicka (Williamstown, Broadway), Caryl Churchill’s Light Shining in Buckinghamshire (New York Theatre Workshop), Marco Ramirez’s The Royale (Old Globe, Lincoln Center), Bess Wohl’s Small Mouth Sounds (Ars Nova, Off-Broadway, national tour), Sarah Gancher’s I’ll Get You Back Again (Round House), and multiple collaborations with Taylor Mac including The Lily’s Revenge, Act 2 (HERE); and with Chris Thorpe, including Confirmation and Status. Chavkin is a recipient of a Tony award for Best Direction, three Obie Awards, a Drama Desk Award, multiple Lortel nominations, two Doris Duke Impact Award nominations, and the 2017 Smithsonian Award for Ingenuity along with Dave Malloy.
